12-year-old fooling around on geology trip accidentally discovers 80-million-year-old fossil

When 12-year-old Corbin Bullard joined his 4-H Geology club's field trip in Kansas, he never thought he would discover something from millions of years ago. During the trip, he noticed something on the ground, and his immediate reaction was, "Whoa!" It turned out to be "seven or eight large vertebrae," his mother, Wendy Bullard, told the news outlet. The story was reported by Inside Edition (@InsideEdition) on YouTube, and it reached 27,000 views, 1,100 likes, and 91 comments since being posted on June 2, 2026.

Prehistoric lizard

The fossil was initially discovered in September 2025, as per reports. However, it took Corbin and his friends from the 4-H club three trips to Kansas to fully extract it, giving the people some sort of idea of how big it was. Experts analyzed the vertebrae and identified them as a Tylosaurus from the Cretaceous period. The news outlet clarified that the fossil did not belong to a dinosaur, but it was a mosasaur, a type of predatory lizard that swam in the waters of Kansas 80 million years ago. "Pretty much all of the middle of America used to be underwater," explained Corbin matter-of-factly to KWCH News.

Discovery of a lifetime

Stephanie Hays, an agent of the Sedgwick County 4-H, said, "4-H is definitely meant to help kids find what they’re interested in and do amazing things... I feel like it’s very surreal to have had this happen. I’m very proud of Corbin for sticking through it and finding everything." Corbin will display his incredible find at the Sedgwick County Fair in July for those who are interested in seeing the remains of the Tylosaurus.

Happy accidents

Most of the fossil discoveries were accidental. Lanny Fisk, the president of PaleoResource Consultants, said, "We find fossils about 85 percent of the time on construction sites." More than half of the new fossils come from construction sites. In states such as California, the number may reach 70%. A few examples include three whales, two porpoises, and marine life dating back to 12 million to 15 million years ago. These were discovered back in 2009, while building a seawall in Santa Cruz, California. An expansion project of the Caldecott Tunnel near Berkeley, California, led to the discovery of extinct camels, giant wolverines, and rhinos. In 2006, they found a prehistoric lion skull, dire wolves, and an almost-complete fossil of a mammoth from the last Ice Age (40,000 to 100,000 years ago) while constructing a parking lot for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

'Learned something new today!'

People in the comment section were extremely impressed with Bullard's find. Not many knew that a tylosaur existed, and its discovery educated many. @AlwaysAKamenRider commented, "Not bad for him, at least he has one h*ll of a story to tell his kids in the future." @christianfonoti added, "Bro is a legend now!"

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